Cat
by Mr Nuked Duck
Summary: What appears to be just a hopeless search for a missing corgi eventually puts Ruby face to face with a strange, red-haired boy. Also, there's a cat! Warning: may contain traces of Swei and shades of red.
1. Story

**Based on the one-word prompt "cat". Also, props to anyone who can figure out who the cat is a reference to! Here's a hint: he's British.**

* * *

Beacon Academy, home to some of the most skilled fighters in all of Remnant, was a sight to behold, no doubt. Yet, as marvellous as its architectural structure was with it's pinnacles and archways, it ultimately paled in comparison to the natural beauty of its surroundings. As if massive cliffs, giant waterfalls and dazzling sunsets over Vale wasn't enough, the surrounding gardens with their lush, green trees and rippling creeks were like an oasis of stillness, perfect for long walks, orchestrated only by the soothing sounds of the wind and the birds singing through the trees.

Most of the time, that is.

"Sweeeeiiii!" Ruby's shrill voice sounded through the gardens, causing the aforementioned atmosphere to shatter. "C'mon, Swei, this was funny an hour ago, but not anymore!"

Peeking out from one of the bushes, the hooded huntress found herself standing on the garden path again. Needless to say, her brief trek through the flora had done little to help her search and Swei was still nowhere to be found. Pulling a misplaced twig from her hair, Ruby let out a sigh. If she had known this would happen she would've just walked him around campus like she usually did. Instead, she had decided, against better judgement, to give him some extra exercise by bringing him out into the gardens - a mistake she now deeply regretted.

"Swei!" she cried again, desperately, pausing to listen for any signs of the corgi. No answer.

Letting her arms droop in defeat as fatigue began to weigh on her body, Ruby couldn't help but consider the idea of going back to the academy and getting the others to help her search. Weiss would no doubt lecture her about responsibility and she somewhat doubted Blake would be very thrilled to join in on the search, but as things looked right now she just didn't see any other options.

Said and done, she was just about to turn around when a distant bark made her halt, mid-step. Frozen, like a statue, Ruby paused to listen. There it was again!

"Swei?!" she began to call as she dashed towards the source of the sound, stirring up spirals of leaves in her wake.

Even without her super speed, she wouldn't have had to look for long. Rounding a corner, she found herself standing on the path that led behind the cafeteria. There, under the thick arch created by the surrounding flora, her eyes finally caught the corgi, barking up a tree.

"Swei!" Ruby exclaimed happily as she jogged to his side, overjoyed to have finally found him. "Oh, I've been looking all over for you!" she proceeded to squee as she picked him up, hugging him close to her body. Feeling some sort of reprimand was in order, she proceeded to mimic Weiss as best she could: "Don't you ever run off like that again, mister!"

The corgi barked in response, but not at her. Seeing his apparent lack of focus, Ruby turned to follow his eyes up into the nearest tree. There, on one of the branches, a dark, brown-eyed cat sat huddled, swinging its tail from side to side as it eyed them with more than a little suspicion. Ruby's eyes widened at the sight. She had never seen a cat around Beacon before! Naturally, seeing as how pets weren't really allowed in the dormitories. She supposed it could've snuck onboard one of the transports, but considering how much noise they made it seemed sort of far-fetched...!

Placing the corgi back on the ground, Ruby carefully moved to approach it. Even though she had grown up with a dog, she had always liked cats a lot.

" _Here, boy!"_ she said, softly, beckoning for it to come down.

The cat meowed suspiciously as it crept back in the shadows, ears folding backwards. Clearly, it didn't trust her enough to approach, at least not with Swei still around. _Shame_ , Ruby thought as she retracted her hand.

As Ruby contemplated wether or not to leave it be, a new voice suddenly called from behind her. At this, the cat sprung from the tree, purposely avoiding the dog as it dashed between her feet towards the source of the call.

"There you are!" a white-clad boy with stylized, red hair smiled as the creature scurried to his side, brushing its face against his stretched-out hand before mounting his shoulder with practised ease. The boy smiled fondly as he moved to scratch it behind the ears, prompting a soft purr from the feline.

Ruby, meanwhile, couldn't help but to smile curiously at the heartwarming sight. Much like the cat, she couldn't recall ever seeing this boy around Beacon, either. Surely, she would have remembered seeing someone looking like _that_ : partially shaved head, markings around his left eye; not to mention the pirate-esque clothing! She guessed he had to be one of the students visiting for the Vytal Festival.

"Is he yours?" she asked, snapping the redhead back to reality. The boy seemed to hesitate for a second, eyes darting from side to side as if to look for an exit.

"Um... yeah!" he finally admitted with a dejected shrug. "Please don't tell anyone! I don't wanna get in trouble!"

"It's okay, it's okay! I won't tell anyone!" Ruby assured as she waved her hands before pointing her thumb at the corgi beside her. "Besides, I'm kinda' bending rules too!"

"Oh." the boy cooed as he noticed the dog's presence, eyes widened in a somewhat pleasant surprise. As if to confirm her statement, Swei barked happily at the stranger. The boy forced a smile. "Charmed!"

"So, what's its name?" Ruby asked as she reached to pet the cat. " _Whoa_!" She immediately had to pull back as it hissed and clawed at her.

The boy gave a slightly strained laugh as he petted it back into submission. "His name's Grouchy!" he said, flashing an apologetic smile.

"How... appropriate!" Ruby admitted as she silently rubbed her fingers, as if to make sure they were all still there.

"Yeah, he's not so good with strangers!" the boy went on to explain. "But he's pretty top once you get to know him!"

A loud snicker, the kind that would earn her a look from Weiss, escaped Ruby's nose.

" _Top_?" she asked with a curious glance.

 _Oh, boy, here we go...!_ the redhead mentally sighed as he rolled his eyes.

"You're, _ah_ , not from around here, are ya?" Ruby asked innocently, hands behind her back as she rocked on her heels back and forth.

"No, I'm from Mistral!" the boy shrugged, sporting a wry smile. This clearly wasn't the first time he'd been questioned on his accent.

"Sooo, that means you go to Haven, right?" Ruby smiled and tilted her head, hoping to keep the conversation going. She wasn't very socially adept, so keeping to the basics was probably her best option.

"Yeah, I'm here to compete in the tournament!" the boy said, nodding his head in the general direction of Amity Colosseum.

Ruby's eyes instantly lit up.

"Can I see your weapon?!" she practically blurted as she moved to approach him, unaware of the way he stiffened at her doing so.

"Um... sure!" he shrugged, forcing a smile. Unbeknownst to Ruby - and despite popular belief - he wasn't very socially adept, at least when it came to girls - especially cute ones. He did his best not to mind the faint smell of roses wafting from her hair as he moved to unsheathe his cutlass and wield it before the girl.

" _Wow_!" Ruby wooed in a much-too-bright voice as she watched the graceful weapon glimmer in the daylight. "Is that a genuine Mistral cutlass?!"

"Actually, I think it was originally made in Vacuo!" the boy explained, giving the blade a familiar swipe before producing another piece of weaponry: what looked to be a flintlock pistol with a hook attached to the handle. "But the gun is my own design!"

Ruby continued to stare in all-too-apparent awe as she studied the weapons. In her experience, a person's weaponry, especially ones that were custom-made, said a lot about their character. The vibes that this boy was giving off so far gave the impression of an adventurer, not too unlike her sister. In a way, she supposed the pirate-look really suited him, albeit without the whole pillaging, murdering and other abominable things that usually came with it. That, and scurvy.

Whereas weapons, needless to say, just so happened to be one of her favourite subjects and, apparently, one of _his_ most favoured subjects as well, their resulting conversation about dust ammunition, recoil, weapon mechanics and other things of the like, ended up carrying on for quite some time. As the seconds ticked by and soon turned to minutes, the two strangers found themselves happily conversing between themselves, spending the rest of their afternoon in the gardens together, just getting to know one another.

By the time they went their separate ways, the sun was already setting.

Ruby smiled, happily, as she made her way back to the dormitories, sneakily transporting Swei in her cape. Yang would no doubt wonder where she had been all day and she could probably expect that earful from Weiss still, but in retrospect it really didn't matter all that much to Ruby. If she had known this would happen, she wouldn't have hesitated for a second about bringing the corgi into the gardens! Because, despite all the hardships in searching for Swei, she, Ruby Rose, had actually made a new friend today!

A rather cute one, at that!


	2. Bonus

"Come on, where are you?!" Scarlet demanded as he peeked behind the bushes, only to find nothing.

"Have you checked _that_ bush?" his friend, Sun Wukong, casually suggested from a nearby tree.

" _Yes_! For the fifth time: I have checked _all the bushes_!" Scarlet groaned, chopping the air in a frustrated gesture.

"Well, have you checked _that_ bush?"

Letting his palm drag across his face, Scarlet let out a dreadful sigh.

"Y'know, when you said you'd help me look, this really isn't what I had in mind!"

"Hey, I can't help what goes on in that swashbuckling head o' yours!" Sun shrugged as he tossed his feet up on a branch, leaning himself back against the trunk. "Only _you_ can do that! That, or a therapist."

Shooting his leader a deserving eye-roll, Scarlet returned to his search. Having had just about enough of looking through bushes, he decided to guide his steps back towards the school. Jumping along the trees with practiced ease, Sun was not far behind.

"Maybe we should, y'know, put some food out!" he called from above. "And a box! They love that kind of stuff!"

A knowing smirk claimed Scarlet's lips as a golden opportunity presented itself.

"Learned that from your new girlfriend, 'ave you?" he quipped, prompting a violent set of snaps behind him as Sun came crashing down through the flora. The resulting collision was enough to be heard quite a ways away. Luckily, few could claim to be as thickheaded as Sun Wukong.

Shaking the daze from his head, the toned blonde proceeded to stare at his red-haired companion.

"How did you-?!"

"Neptune." Scarlet replied with a meaning shrug, before reaching out to help him off the ground.

" _Figures_...!" Sun muttered as he hoisted himself to his feet.

"Hey," Scarlet smiled, as he flipped their hands to where they were grasping the base of each others' thumbs. "Congratulations, mate! I'm happy for ya'!"

A moment of silence passed between them as Sun seemed to process the unexpected compliment.

"Thanks." he finally said with a smirk, before letting their hands parts. "Well," he said as he cracked his head from side to side. "I've got some ass-whoppin' to do! I'll see you back at the dorms!"

Scarlet couldn't help but to shake his head knowingly as he watched his leader and best friend speed off towards the academy. With that, the young huntsman turned, with the intent of getting back to his search. Suddenly, a distant bark made him halt, mid-step. Frozen, like a stature, Scarlet paused to listen. There it was again!

Sensing a connection, the boy quickly set off towards the source of the sound. He could only hope that nobody got there before he did...!


End file.
